The service celebrating Bob’s life took place on Tuesday, April 14 at the Cultural Center.
The architect of Ocean Reef Club’s Brand Vision, and so much more … Bob Schmetterer passed away on March 22, 2026, with his wife Stacy and son Tyler by his side. Born in New York City in 1943, in the borough of the Bronx, Bob had very early memories of fishing with his grandmother from a wooden rowboat on a Connecticut lake. He credited those memories, along with early television shows like “Sea Hunt” and “Adventures in Paradise,” with his love of boats and boating, a passion that guided both his professional and personal life. Not only did his interest in boats become party to a successful advertising career, it also led him to the love of his life. The first conversation between Stacy Chiarello and Bob Schmetterer forty years ago was about boats and sailing. Two years later they married aboard a 1926 motor yacht in front of their home on the Hudson River.
Boating would again play a role in another life-changing event. Bob and Stacy commissioned a Dettling motor yacht in 1998. Builder and Ocean Reef member Ed Dettling suggested a visit to the Club and its extraordinary marina. They obliged and together, they fell in love with Ocean Reef Club.
Bob, who initially said, “I’m not really a committee guy,” served on the Ocean Reef Club Board of Directors for a remarkable ten years, including as the Club’s 16th Chairman from April 2015- April 2017. Among much committee participation, he chaired the Marine Advisory Committee, Marketing Committee and Membership Committee, the latter two on which he still actively served. As a past Chairman, he was also a member of the Greybeards, initiating and leading the Past Chairman’s Council.
Bob’s leadership was visionary and collaborative with an incredible connectivity to the membership. He fostered an environment where creative ideas for both the Board and the Membership were accepted, and flourished. Not only did he develop the Brand Vision for the Club, he also brought forth the idea for a Membership Census, a tool that offers invaluable insight and has provided the Board strategic guidance since its inception in 2010.
The overarching theme to his Chairmanship was Equity Members First, led by the Guiding Principle, First and Foremost We are a Club. With this, priority and focus were given to Equity Member families and the family experience which could only be done by maintaining a limited number of Members and memberships. Together with the Board, they sought to find the right balance for the Club and under Bob’s leadership, the Wait List for Social Membership was born.
Bob was an expert communicator, which also included being a great listener, and through this was able to deeply engage the membership. He encouraged participation by strengthening the Advisory Councils, Town Hall meetings, and adding additional community presentations to the Club calendar. He encouraged questions and face to face meetings. He would thoughtfully articulate “only at Ocean Reef” moments, forging connections amongst members.
He also fostered meaningful connections with the Club’s Associates, referring to them collectively as Ocean Reef’s “Secret Sauce.” Just as he had done with the membership, he listened with care and shared his knowledge generously.
Bob treasured history and brought the Club’s history to the forefront; it was rare if he did not mention it in member communications. Together, Bob and Stacy created and produced the Cultural Center book launch event: “On the Reef” for the Historical Society and Stacy was integral in the 2015 renovation and reimagination of the Ocean Reef Museum at the Cultural Center. Bob also served as a Director of the Ocean Reef Community Foundation and on the Foundation’s Grants Committee.
Bob and Stacy are also members of the Key Largo Anglers Club and New York Yacht Club. He was recently awarded the New York Yacht Club Medal, the Club’s highest honor, for which he took great pride in as it is only bestowed on those members who have made the highest level of commitment and contributions to the Club.
Before his retirement in 2004, Bob was Chairman and CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide, the 5th largest advertising agency in the world. The agency operates in 75 countries and has over 10,000 employees. He was also President and Board Director of its parent company – HAVAS – a major publicly-owned European media group.
During Bob’s 40-year career in advertising, he served as Chief Executive of four different ad agencies, including legendary creative agency Scali McCabe Sloves and was a founding partner of his own firm: Messner Vetere Berger Carey Schmetterer. Volvo, Intel, MCI, NASDAQ, Perdue Chicken, and Evian were among his signature clients. In 2005, Wiley published his book: “Leap: A Revolution in Creative Business Strategy”.
Bob leaves behind two sons; Adam, and partner Desiree, who live in Prescott, AZ, and Tyler, wife Sharon, and 16 year old granddaughter Skyler Rose, who make their home in Snedens Landing, NY.
Bob and Stacy spent summers at their home on Martha’s Vineyard and autumns in a beloved cottage in Maine. For twenty plus years they could be found cruising the coast from the Bahamas to Maine on Blue Moon and then Fandango, discovering new ports of call and untold stories along the way.
As Bob always said, there is “more to come…”
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Ocean Reef Community Foundation, 35 Ocean Reef Drive, Suite 148, Key Largo, FL 33037, in memory of Bob Schmetterer, designating either Community Grants Fund or Ocean Reef Employee Emergency Fund.